


Spark’s Fly One Shot #9

by alliecat23784



Series: Sparks Fly [10]
Category: Harry Styles - Fandom, One Direction, niall horan - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-31 07:50:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12677562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alliecat23784/pseuds/alliecat23784
Summary: Harry looks after a sick Maggie.





	Spark’s Fly One Shot #9

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this latest instalment in the lives of Narry and Maggie! 
> 
> You can find me on Twitter @niallison23

 

 

**October 2019**

 

Harry woke up at seven in the morning and rolled over only to be met with a cold bed. He groaned and buried his face in Niall’s pillow, remembering that Niall left for Ireland yesterday to help his Mum for a few days. His Granny was getting older and needed a bit of help these days so Maura was moving her in with her and her husband and Niall went over for a few days to help with the move. Harry couldn’t go along because he had some things to do in London, some finishing touches for his album he was planning to release in March of 2020, so he offered to keep Maggie home with him so she wouldn’t be under foot in Ireland. So it was just him and his favourite girl for a few days and he was excited but still missed Niall.

Harry stretched out his arms and legs while yawning loudly. He was still feeling tired and would love to go back to sleep but he was meeting Kid Harpoon at the recording studio later in the morning and wanted to make sure he had time to get a shower then breakfast for himself and Maggie. He asked Kid if he minded Maggie coming along to the studio and he said he didn’t mind at all so Harry was going to pack some of her favourite toys and games to play with and set her up with them while he did a bit of last minute recording. He could call her Nanny, Jessica, but he didn’t really want to. He loved spending time with Maggie and knowing she’s there will only motivate him to get things done and not mess around. The quicker he’s finished, the quicker he gets to spend time with the little girl one on one.

He’s about to throw the covers off himself and get up when he hears shuffling at the door and then Maggie appears in the doorway holding her Winnie the Pooh blanket and looking tired and sad, “Hi, baby girl. What’s wrong?”

“Howwy,” Maggie walks over to the edge of the bed and sniffles, “Feel sicky.”

Harry frowns and reaches down to pick her up, cuddling her in his lap and feeling her forehead. She was a little warm but nothing too bad. He’d still grab the ear thermometer in a minute to make sure, “You feel poorly, my love? Tell Harry how you’re feeling.”

“Achy,” Maggie whined softly, cuddling into Harry’s chest and tucking her head under his chin, “Want cuddles.”

Harry held her close to him and kissed the top of her head, making soft cooing noises, “I’m sorry you’re feeling poorly my love. Don’t you worry, though, because I’m going to take good care of you. We can stay here in mine and Daddy’s bed all day and cuddle okay? We’ll watch all your favourite shows on the telly and cuddle up in the blankets. Would you like that?”

Maggie sighed softly and Harry could feel her lips on his neck giving him a little kiss, “Okay,”

Harry smiles and presses his cheek against her head, holding her close and swaying them back and forth slowly. He reaches for his phone on the nightstand and brings it in front of him, quickly sending a text to Kid, explaining that Maggie is sick so he can’t make it to the studio today after all. Kid replies right away, assuring Harry he understands and he can still get some work done that he doesn’t need Harry for. Harry thanks him then puts his phone back on the table, returning his attention to Maggie.

“Maggie? I’m going to lay you down on the bed okay? You can snuggle against all the pillows and I’ll turn the telly on so you can watch Peppa. Will you stay here and rest while I go get you some medicine to make you feel better?” Harry asks the little girl as he props her head up with pillows and pulls the duvet up to her chin to keep her warm.

Maggie cuddles into the pillows and looks up at Harry with droopy eyes. She’d probably fall back to sleep again soon, “Okay, Howwy, I stay here.”

Harry smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead, “That’s my good girl. I love you. I’ll be right back, “ Harry said, then he quickly pulled pajama pants and a t-shirt on over his boxers and headed across the hall to the bathroom that was pretty much just used for Maggie since he and Niall had an en suite. He opened up one of the drawers in the cabinet and got out the ear thermometer and the liquid baby Tylenol then walked back to his room to take Maggie’s temperature.

It didn’t take long for him to take her temperature and give her the medicine. Probably because the medicine tastes like grape and she loves that flavour. Of course Niall would be smart and buy grape flavour medicine since grape is her favourite flavour of juice. Harry has been slowly learning how to be a good father by watching Niall and he was in awe of him everyday. Even something as simple as thinking to buy good tasting medicine to ensure Maggie would take it, impresses Harry. His boyfriend is an amazing father and even better man. Harry is very lucky to have him.

Speaking of Niall - Harry should definitely call him and let him know what’s going on. He could do that while he was downstairs making tea for himself and getting Maggie some juice, “I’m going downstairs for a minute to make tea and get you some juice. You want grape right?”

“Yes please,” Maggie says softly, completely melting Harry’s heart like she does everyday.

“Okay, baby, I’ll be back in a few minutes. You rest and watch Peppa,” Harry says, kissing her on the forehead then grabbing his phone and heading downstairs.

Once down there, he fills the kettle with water and turns it on, then grabs a bowl and some eggs from the fridge, cracking them quickly and adding milk. He turns the stove on and begins whisking the eggs while he waits for the pan to heat up. He doesn’t know if Maggie is hungry but he’s going to bring some scrambled eggs anyway. He’ll eat them if she doesn’t want any.

After he whisks the eggs he gets a cup and puts a teabag in it, fills a sippy cup with juice, then puts his phone on speaker and calls Niall. “Morning, Petal, “ Niall says when he answers, his voice light and cheerful.

Harry smiles softly at the sound of his boyfriend’s voice, missing him that much more now that he’s heard his voice, “Good Morning, love. Did I wake you?”

Niall scoffed and Harry could hear the sound of cutlery against a plate, “No chance. Granny is up with the sunrise and I got up to make her and Mum breakfast before we start moving her stuff to Mum’s house. We’re just finishing breakfast now. What are you doing? Just waking up?”

Harry stirs his eggs around in the frying pan then moves over to the kettle to pour the hot water into his cup, “I’ve been awake for half an hour. I’m making tea and scrambled eggs right now. I think our girl has a little cold. She’s feeling a bit poorly this morning.”

“What? Is she okay?” Niall asked, his voice turning serious.

Harry smiled and got the milk out of the fridge for his tea, “She’s okay. I checked her temperature and it wasn’t very high but I gave her some medicine anyway. She’s tucked into our bed with Peppa on now while she waits for me. We’re going to cuddle together all day.”

“My poor baby,” Niall cooed, “She’ll love spending all day in bed with you. She loves a good cuddle when she’s sick. Didn’t you have work today though?”

Harry finished making his tea and went back to the frying pan to check on his eggs, “Mags and I were going to go into the studio so I could finish a couple things with Kid but I already cancelled. He’s fine with it. We’ll reschedule.”

“Are you sure?” Niall sounded concerned, “You could call Jessica you know? She’s very capable of taking care of a sick child.”

“I know,” Harry said as he plated the eggs and got two forks from the drawer, “I don’t want to. My girl is sick and I want to stay with her and cuddle her and sing to her. I’m not leaving my baby.”

Niall made a soft cooing noise and said, “Have I told you how much I love you lately, Petal?”

Harry grinned and was about to answer when he heard Niall’s granny in the background calling Niall a sap and then Maura telling her mother to stop listening to the conversation. Harry barked out a laugh and heard Niall sigh, his voice sounding far away when he says, “Granny would ya feck off? I won’t bring Harry back to visit you anymore if ya don’t behave.”

“You will!” Harry hears the older woman say in the background, “Harry loves me. I make his favourite cookies. He’ll come visit me without you. I like him better anyway.”

“Jesus Christ,” Niall says fondly, all while Harry is roaring with laughter into the phone. He adores Niall’s granny and he loves the relationship Niall has with her. He especially loves when they’ve both had a few drinks and start cursing at each other. That woman is feisty indeed! “When you’re done laughing can we resume this conversation, Pet?”

Harry managed to calm himself down to just a giggle and said, “Sorry, sorry, you and your granny crack me up. I should probably get going now anyway. I made some eggs. I don’t know if Maggie will want to eat anything but I’ll try to get her to have a bite or two.”

“You’re so good to her, Harry. I can’t tell you enough how happy I am you’re there with her now. If I can’t be there then I want you with her. You’re an amazing Dad to her. I hope you know that,” Niall says, his voice soft and full of love.

Harry blushes and looks down at the counter, his finger tracing over the pattern in the countertop, “I’m not really her Dad yet though.”

“Oh, Petal, of course you are. It might not be legal yet but the paperwork is done and you already do everything for her a father does. She loves you so much and so do I. You’re wonderful to both of us,” Niall says, his voice full of conviction.

“Thank you, baby,” Harry says softly, his cheeks still warm from the compliment and from just the fact he loved being a father to Maggie, “I’m going to get back upstairs now. I’ll FaceTime you later from our bed so you can see Maggie.”

“Okay. Give her a kiss for me. Tell her I love her and miss her so much,” Niall instructs Harry, “I love you, Petal.”

“I love you, too. Hug your Mum and Granny for me,” Harry said before they both hung up and Harry put his phone in the pocket of his pajama pants.

Picking up the plate of eggs, the sippy cup, and his cup of tea, Harry headed back upstairs to his bedroom where Maggie was in the middle of the bed, her small body engulfed in the duvet and pillows. She was still awake, watching Peppa Pig, but her eyes were droopy and Harry knew she’d fall asleep very shortly. “Hi, love. How are you doing?”

Maggie looked at him, the pout on her face almost comical, “Head hurts. Don’t like it, Howwy.”

“I knoooowwww,” Harry cooed, a pout on his own lips, “It sucks being sick. I don’t like it when I get sick either,” Harry puts his tea down on the nightstand then gets on the bed next to Maggie, the plate of eggs on his lap, “Does your throat hurt?”

Maggie shook her head and Harry nodded, lifting his hand to feel her forehead. She didn’t seem to be too hot so the medicine must be working, “Can you do me a favour, precious girl?” When Maggie nodded, Harry continued, “Can I sit you up a bit so you can eat some eggs with me? Just a tiny bit. We don’t want you getting weak and hungry. Gotta keep your strength up to fight your cold.”

Maggie looks at him quietly for a moment, her eyes so blue and so much like Niall’s they nearly took his breath away. She seems to be contemplating but eventually she nods her head and says, “Okay, Howwy,” so Harry moves the pillows around a bit and props her up, brushing her hair out of her face before taking her little fork and putting some eggs on it.

“There you go,” Harry said softly as he fed her some eggs, “How’s that?”

“Fluffy,” Maggie answered when she was done chewing.

Harry laughed and leaned forward to kiss her forehead, “Fluffy just the way you like them!”

Maggie gave him a small smile and said, “Thank you, Howwy.”

“You’re welcome, baby girl,” Harry said, lifting another bite to her mouth.

Once she’s eaten a few bites and doesn’t want anymore, Harry gives her her sippy cup of juice to drink while he finishes off the eggs and drinks his tea. He lays the dishes neatly on his nightstand when he’s done, then goes about arranging the pillows and the duvet perfectly so he can lay down in bed with Maggie and cuddle.

“Are you sleepy, darling?” Harry asks once he’s laying in the bed with Maggie tucked into his side.

Maggie nods her head and begins to move around, throwing one of her legs over Harry’s waist and crawling on top of his chest and stomach, grasping onto him like a koala. Harry wraps his arms around her and hides a smile against her hair. She’s been cuddling into him like this since she was about six or seven months old but it never gets old to Harry. The overwhelming feeling of love, pride, affection, and just total happiness, is always there every time she wraps her little body around him. She trusts him. Completely. For Harry that’s a huge honour and something he’ll never take for granted.

“Howwy,” Maggie murmurs, her breath warm against his neck, “Swee Cree please.”

Harry kissed the top of her head, his smile growing wider at the request. ‘Swee Cree’ is how she says ‘Sweet Creature’. It’s her absolute favourite song thanks to Niall playing it for her all the time, and it has to go on repeat every time they take a road trip up North to Holmes Chapel in the car. She especially loves when Harry and Niall sing along - harmonizing like they do in concert.

So Harry turns the telly down on low, clears his throat, and starts singing softly. By the time he finishes the whole song, Maggie is fast asleep, safe and sound in his arms.

  
~~~

  
It’s nearly noon when Harry wakes up because Maggie is stirring. He yawns and rubs a hand over her back gently until she lifts her head and looks at him sleepily, “Howwy, potty.”

Harry smiles and kisses her nose before he sits up with her in his arms and gets up out of bed. He’s proud of her for letting him know she has to wee. She’s almost potty trained, only wears a nappy at night now, but he left one on her this morning since she was sick and will likely spend all day in bed. That could have been confusing for a two and a half year old but not for Maggie it seems.

Once they get across the hall to the bathroom where her potty is set up, Harry helps her out of her pajama pants and nappy and disposed of it while she does her business. When she’s done, he supervises while she stands on her steps to reach the sink and wash her hands, then he lifts her up and she immediately cuddles into him, clearly not feeling the best right now.

“You’re feeling pretty icky today, aren’t you darling?” Harry says with a pout, “Does your tummy hurt? Or your throat?”

Maggie sighs and rubs her cheek against his shirt, almost sounding like she’s whining when she speaks, “No tummy. Just feel achy everywhere.”

Harry understands. He’s had the flu before where his whole body aches and any sort of light at all would hurt his eyes. It sucked but he mostly just sleeps through it when he’s sick, “Do you think you can eat something? What about some toast or soup?”

“Toast,” Maggie whimpers, her arms holding onto Harry tight around his neck.

“Okay,” Harry says softly, rubbing Maggie’s back as he walked back into his and Niall’s bedroom, “I’m going to tuck you back into bed while I go make the toast. I’ll put the kids channel on the telly for you. If you need me just talk into this monitor here, okay?”

Harry turned on the monitor he brought from Maggie’s room that allows him to see Maggie on his iPhone. He knows she won’t get up and get into anything but he feels better knowing she can call out to him if she feels sick and needs him right away.

Once downstairs he put four slices of toast in the toaster and got the butter and jam from the fridge. He was just going to have toast too. He didn’t feel up to making anything more substantial for himself. Despite going back to sleep he still feels tired and a bit off. For all he knew he was getting sick too. Hopefully not too bad, though, not until Niall gets home at least.

Ten minutes later he has the toast done, tea for himself and water for the both of them, and he heads upstairs and back to his baby, “Okay, Mags, when you’re done your toast it’ll be time for some more medicine.”

Maggie nods and begins nibbling on her toast while Harry gets in bed next to her and begins to eat his own. They remain silent, watching the kids program on the telly, some cheerful song playing at the moment. When they’re done, Harry quickly brings all the dishes downstairs and puts them in the sink then he goes back upstairs to give Maggie more medicine.

“There you go, little one. That will help you feel better,” Harry murmurs after he gives Maggie the medicine. He tucks her in and get in beside her, brushing his fingers through her hair while he watches her, “Do you feel sleepy still?”

“Yes,” Maggie whispered, her eyes fluttering a bit, “Cuddle please.”

Harry chuckled and scooted down the bed more, wrapping an arm around Maggie and pulling her against him, “I’ll always cuddle you. You’re so good at it, just like your Daddy.”

“Mmhmm,” Maggie hummed, “Daddy good.”

Harry laughed and kissed her forehead, “Yes, Daddy is so good. Would you like another song?”

Maggie nodded so Harry thought about it for a moment and decided to sing ‘Blackbird’ this time. Many people have told him that ‘Sweet Creature’ kind of sounds like it was influenced by ‘Blackbird’ and they’re not wrong. It’s one of Harry’s favourite songs by The Beatles after all and since Maggie loves it almost as much as ‘Sweet Creature’ it sounds like the logical choice of song to sing.

He starts off humming the melody for a bit then sings the song, the warmth of Maggie’s body next to his making him feel a bit drowsy himself. At some point during the song, Maggie puts her little hand in his and Harry holds on to it, bringing it to his lips for a quick kiss.

When he’s finished and gets himself comfortable so he can fall asleep and have another nap, Maggie surprises him. He thought she had drifted off but she hadn’t, not yet, not before she buries her face against Harry’s neck and says, “Love love, Papa.”

Harry’s breath catches in his throat, his heart beats faster and his eyes and nose begin to sting when his eyes fill with tears. He doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know what to say. He feels like he’s paralyzed, her tiny voice repeating over and over again in his head, “Love love, Papa.” _Papa_. She called him Papa. His sweet baby girl who he loves with all his heart just called him Papa for the first time.

As the tears started to roll down his cheeks, Harry looked at Maggie’s face and saw she drifted off to sleep. Probably for the best since she doesn’t like to see people crying. Even when they’re happy tears and God knows these are happy tears. He’s so overwhelmed right now but in a good way. In the _best_ way.

He thinks of Niall then and grabs his phone from the nightstand, desperately needing him right now, needing to share with him what happened and just see his face. He clicks on Niall’s name and hits FaceTime, not really caring that Niall is probably in the middle of moving boxes or something right now. It takes a minute and Harry thinks the call is about to go to voicemail but Niall picks up at the last minute, his face appearing on screen looking flushed. He’s smiling until he sees Harry’s face, then a look of panic replaces the smile and he’s asking Harry, “Is Maggie alright? Oh my God, Harry, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

“No, no, no, Maggie is fine!” Harry almost shouted, grateful in that moment that Maggie is a sound sleeper. He moves his phone to show Maggie cuddled against his side, “See? She just fell asleep after eating some toast for lunch.”

Niall breathed a sigh of relief and made a cooing sound at the sight of his sleeping daughter, “She looks comfy in my spot. I miss you both like crazy. What’s wrong, Petal? Why are you crying?”

Harry sniffles and laughs at himself, trying to wipe the tears from his cheeks but they just keep coming. He looks at Niall through the screen and sees the fond look on his face, the small smile and the crinkles by his eyes and he knows that’s all for him. He knows how much Niall loves him and it’s all just so, so, much right now that his heart feels like it’s going to explode, “Niall,” He chokes out, his voice scratchy from crying, “Niall you won’t believe what happened.”

Niall laughs softly and starts walking somewhere, the screen shaking a bit as he goes. He sits down on what Harry recognizes as Maura’s couch and puts his feet up, looking like he’s getting comfortable, “Of course I’m not going to believe what happened, Petal. Not if you can’t get it together enough to tell me!”

Harry giggles and hides his face behind his hand. He can hear Niall laughing and peeked at the screen from between his fingers. He never wanted to miss Niall smiling and laughing. It was the best smile and laugh Harry had ever seen and heard. “Sorry, sorry,” Harry giggles again and looks down to make sure Maggie is still fast asleep before he speaks again, “Niall...I was singing ‘Blackbird’ for her like I always do, you know - when she’s falling asleep? And when I was done I thought she had drifted off but she hadn’t quite yet. She - before she fell asleep she told me - she said she loved me. She said - she said ‘love love, Papa’ and I - “ Harry couldn’t finish because he got choked up again but that was okay because Niall was too busy reacting.

“Petal...are you serious??” Niall asked, his eyes wide and already filling with tears, “She-?”

Harry nodded vigorously, a huge smile on his face, “Yeah. Yeah, she called me Papa, Niall. She - oh God I can’t stop crying. This is the best day of my life. Do you hear me? The. Best. Day. Of. My. Life.”

Niall laughed breathlessly and fell back against the fluffy cushions on the couch, “I hear you, Petal. I absolutely hear you. Fuck. This is - this is incredible. This is - I’ve been dropping the word to her over and over again, associating it with you because I want her to know you’re her Daddy too and - fuck I guess it worked!”

“What?” Harry stares at Niall, completely gobsmacked at what he’s hearing. “You - how come you didn’t tell me?”

Niall puts a hand on his head and starts playing with his hair, pushing it forward then leaving it in a messy pile on his head, “I wanted it to be a surprise. I wanted her to just _say_ it one day and surprise you. I didn’t anticipate that I’d miss it!!”

Harry shakes his head a bit, still in shock over it all, “Papa. Papa, Niall! I love it so much. I love it so fucking much! Thank you, Niall. Just - thank you for coming into my life, for loving me and letting me love you and for letting me love your little girl. Thank you, baby, thank you.”

“Oh, Petal,” Niall sniffles and had to choke back his own tears, “She’s every bit yours now as she is mine. You’re her beloved Papa and you always will be. I can’t wait to get home and hug you both and hear her say it.”

“Oh God,” Harry laughed, “Me too, baby. I need to hug you and kiss you. I may also be getting sick as well so I’ll need you to take care of me and Mags.”

Niall let out such a loud bark of laughter that Maura and his Granny walked into the room to find out what he was laughing at, “I’m going to fill them in, Petal. You take care of our girl and I’ll FaceTime you tonight before bed, yeah? I love you both so much. Im so happy right now. You have no idea.”

Harry is bursting with so much happiness right now he almost wants to hug his phone since he can’t hug Niall, “I’m so glad you’re as happy as I am about this. We’re so lucky, Niall. So, so lucky to have our little family. I love you.”

Niall is very obviously choking back his tears when he blows a kiss to Harry and they say goodbye. Harry can’t help himself - he takes a screenshot of Niall blowing him the kiss and pulls it up on his phone, staring at it like a twelve year old girl having her first crush.

He falls asleep sometime later, Maggie asleep by his side and Niall’s picture saved on his lock screen.


End file.
